The Most-Surprising Cause of Death in Pennsylvania And Why It Matters

Heart disease, cancer and respiratory illnesses regularly top the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual tally of the leading causes of death among Americans. But in Pennsylvania, the story is different.

Heart disease, cancer and respiratory illnesses are still killers in the Keystone State, but local residents are also more likely than the average American to die of an assault, which was indexed to 1.59 times the national average in Pennsylvania, according to an analysis by HealthGrove. Health Grove is a data-driven health news and information site.

Neighboring states had the following most surprising causes of death: in New Jersey it's septicemia; in Delaware it's also assault and in Ohio it's accidental poisoning.

In its analysis of 2014 data from the CDC, HealthGrove looked at the 113 causes of death on the agency’s list, and found causes that were the most over-indexed in every state. Only conditions that led to 100 or more deaths per state were considered.

The data is important, HealthGrove says, because looking only at the national trend, important regional fluctuations can be missed -- and that can have deadly consequences.

The analysis in fact showed deadly regional trends. Assault also is the most over-indexed cause of death in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee.

On the West Coast, hepatitis prevails and in mountain region states, suicide is the most over-indexed. Other surprising causes of death include falls in Wisconsin, HIV in Florida and emphysema in Vermont.

Check out the graphic below for each state in the union.